magicmk

My 2013 A5 is just past 55k miles and so I've been reviewing the chart for Audi's maintenance schedule intervals. Been having a concern over the fact that Audi has no scheduled maintenance for the transmission (it's the 8-speed paired to the 2.0T). I can't find any discussion pertinent to the 8-speed as far as what people have done (so I'm going to assume nothing), but I'm the type where I think a bit of preventative service would help prolong the life of transmission enormously, as I do intend to hang on to this car for quite a while. Now, there are intervals listed for the DSG/S-Tronic and the CVT - but nothing specific to mine that I have found, other than "check for leaks".

Reading some info on a few other forums regarding various Audi platforms, some have suggested that if you want to be in the habit of changing the trans fluid and filter, you should do so regularly, and not wait till it's in really poor shape (i.e., totally black at at 100k miles or more). I have an '08 Jetta with a 6sp auto and the interval on it is 40k.

BTW, that service was a pain in the rear on the Jetta, next time around I plan to take either car and let my local independent VW/Audi tech handle it.

So, I'm looking for feedback on what a proper service interval on my A5 should be? 40k? 60k?

JD15

Audi claims that the transmission is sealed, cannot be serviced, and the fluid is lifetime (BS), as in it will last the lifetime of your prematurely failing transmission. On another Audi forum, a poster contacted the transmission manufacturer, ZF, which confirmed that there is no "lifetime" transmission fluid and recommended changing the fluid at around 80,000 km (50,000 miles). My transmission is six years old and has 38k miles, so I may consider this service in the next year, depending upon how long I plan to keep the car.

findalex

I too have about 55K on my A5. I just changed all the fluids on my 8-speed. The oil at 55K was a dark maple syrup grade B color. The new oil is a light olive oil color.

I highly recommend doing this.

You basically need to do the following:

1. Change the front differential "final drive" oil
2. Change the ATF (you need 4 liters, but buy 5 bottles just in case)
3. Change the center differential "transfer case" oil
4. Change the rear differential "final drive" oil
5. Reset the ATF adaptation settings do a "quick adaptation"

You MUST use a VAG-COM/VCDS because you need to check your fluid level at a specific ATF temperature (35 - 40 degree C)

Do a Google search for "ZF 8HP55 findalex" and you should find all the notes I took and posted elsewhere.

Cheers,

Alex

magicmk

Very useful! Thanks Alex. I was also sort of wondering about the other driveline fluids as well, so that is excellent info. I don't know if I'll attempt this all myself, I do have VCDS, but the transmission service on my Jetta 6sp auto was an absolute pain. I'll probably check with my local tech and see if he is able to tackle this for me.

JD15 - That was the sort of range I had in mind, although that someone was able to get some feedback from ZF is pretty amazing. That is really good stuff. Thank you!

findalex

Here is the comparison between new oil and oil with 55K miles.

The picture is of the ATF, and the differential oils are all about the same in terms of difference in color. None of the old oil smelled burnt though.

magicmk

Alex, do you remember how much fluid you went through performing the transmission service? I had an independent (but reliable) Audi shop look into doing this for me and he quoted me almost $800, mostly due to the fact that the tranny fluid is so expensive - about $45/quart. I found your post on A5OC but other than a mention of about a half liter of fluid you removed, couldn't quite get a good idea. Clearly my shop's numbers are not matching up with yours somehow, unless he has misjudged the trans fluid capacity?

findalex

I did a drain and fill and the fluid capacities per the service manual are:

Transmission | G060162A2 | 3.6 L - 4.0 L ($20 - 40/L)
Front Final Drive | G052145S2 | 1 L ($20 - 30)
Rear Final Drive | G052145S2 | 1.1 L ($20 - 30)
Transfer Case | G055145A2 | 1 L ($70 - 80)

So about $ 265 for all the fluids.

$85/quart is a nice profit margin for that mechanic. This site seems to have consistently low prices on Lifeguard 8 although ECS tuning and Europa Parts also have sales sometimes.

Here is the official list of alternative fluids directly from ZF, the transmission manufacturer, so you can use these if you can find good prices on them.

ZF Lifeguardfluid 8 (ZF No. S671 090 312)
=> Audi / VW Oil No. G 060162 A1 / A2 / A6 ATF
=> BMW Oil No. 8322 2152426
=> Jaguar Oil No. 02JDE 26444
=> Land Rover Oil No. LR023288
=> Chrysler Oil No. 68157995AA
=> Petronas Tutela Transmission AS8

Chrysler/Mopar is the lowest I could find and I used 1 L of it without any issues. It's called "8 & 9 speed ATF" and the part number has been updated, but it's the same oil.

BTW, if you have access to Shell, all of the above is basically Shell L 12108.

magicmk

Wow, that is interesting. Like I said, he quoted me at $45/qt and if I remember right, I think he estimated maybe 10 qts altogether - it's possible he was thinking there might be a couple of fill & flush cycles involved, I don't know. He is the type of mechanic who would give me a straight answer if I pressed him on it, but either way, that sort of price difference would entice me into tackling the job myself, in spite of me wanting to avoid it.

I don't know why I didn't check this out sooner, but I serviced my 08 Jetta's transmission with a complete kit from Blauparts last year. It looks like they have a similar kit for the A5 here with the fluids, seal, filter, and replacement bolts, although their site shows it being currently out of stock. Excellent information on the fluids, though, very well done. Thank you.

findalex

The initial fill capacity for the ATF is 9 liters, but I just did the drain and fill once. I didn't even drop the pan and change the filter since I couldn't find anyone saying the filter looked bad even after 100K and also because there was a cross brace that needed to be removed. It's not running on 100% fresh oil, but I can live with that. I'll probably do another drain and fill in 35K because it will be much easier and faster the second time around.

If you can change the ATF on your Jetta, I'm sure you will have no problem. I personally like to work on my cars so it's fun for me. If I had to pay someone to do this, I would probably have them do everything at once and just pay for the labor once.

UPDATED:

Here is what the repair manual says"

"If the vehicle mileage is high, it is recommended to renew the ATF strainer when removing the ATF oil pan. Otherwise the ATF strainer only has to be renewed if it has been damaged."

If you want to remove the pan and change the filter:

1. remove subframe cross brace
2. remove transmission mount
3. remove pan
4. remove and replace filter
5. put back pan, transmission mount, subframe cross brace

I will update with more links as I find them

Ricoa5

I have a 13 a5 as well and on my car fax at around 60k it had the trans serviced. I’m about 115 now and would like the service as well. It’s a 13 a5 8 speed. Can anyone provide part #s for necessary fluids? I put some of the #s from above on fcp/ ecs and it came up as Manual trans only. What’s serviceable on my car? I’ve been in a Honda my whole life. I’ll never go back. Just trying to keep her nice that’s all.